Wouldn't It Be Nice?

Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up feeling refreshed every day, and never have to worry about tomorrow or that we'd have to meet our needs? Wouldn't it be nice if we could have everything that we will ever need? To never have to suffer, live in pain, or experience agony? How great would that be?

Beach Boys vibes aside, there is a day we get to look forward to. I'm looking forward to it a little more every day. A life with no pain, sorrow or suffering? Not having to worry about getting enough food or paying all the bills? To be free and have everything we'll ever need, living in joy, peace, and harmony forever? Sign me up!

Sadly, many won't take part in it. 

I was thinking the other day about the imagery used to describe where we go after death. For example, the "Stairway to Heaven" and "Highway to Hell" are both painfully accurate. Getting into heaven and receiving eternal life isn't an easy road, and it takes work to build up heavenly blessing beyond the initial gift of eternal life. Not many truly take up this task, and even many who claim to aren't truly climbing those stairs, not truly following Jesus or seeking what the Holy Spirit is calling them to (if they've even been granted the Spirit, that is). 

Yet the highway to hell is full of people speeding down their way, rushing through life searching for all the wrong things in all the worst places. Yet, some of these people even claim to follow Jesus! I ask you then, how many people do you know who have been granted the gifts of the Holy Spirit? 

There are some, many even, who claim the Spirit does not still give gifts of prophecy, healing, speaking in tongues, miracles, and a number of other Spirit-led tools that were given to believers. But if the Spirit is still dispersed and granted among believers, then why should we think these gifts are not still relevant? 1 Corinthians 13 talks about how prophecies will cease, tongues will be stilled, and knowledge will pass away, but the time for this has not yet come. After all, if we assume prophecies and tongues have ceased, then by the same merit knowledge is no longer present either (which I could see an argument for based on the beliefs of many self-proclaimed "Christians", but among the true body of Christ I still see value in knowledge and many strive for it), yet if knowledge prevails then so do the other gifts! The Spirit still distributes such gifts, but there's so many pretend Christians in this world that many are convinced these spiritual gifts are no longer present in the body of Christ! Yet testimonies of true followers say God still gives gifts of healing, speaking in tongues, prophecy, and more.

I worry about many who claim to follow Jesus. My prayer and hope is that they will be fully invested, all-in to follow God and be blessed by the Holy Spirit, following its instructions. But many don't even read the Scriptures, yet say they follow Christ. How can you follow Jesus if you don't know what He teaches? How can you live for Him if you never learn how He wants you to live? Yet so many think going to church, serving, being a good person, and not doing those "bad" things are enough to earn them a place in the kingdom. It's not that these are bad, but faith in Christ is what saves, and believing in Him requires action, not simply passively believing that Jesus is the Messiah who saves from sin, because even demons believe that (James 2). Believing in Jesus means living for Jesus too. What good is your belief if you don't do anything with it? Maybe I'm repeating myself here, but it's worth repeating!

I don't want to see those who think they're saved because of what they do sent to hell, but that's where they're gonna go if they don't start following Jesus' example and trying to live like Him (not being perfect examples, as they're still flawed people, but striving to be more like Jesus every day). The righteous will be saved, but by Jesus' righteousness, not their own! I think there's a lot of people who don't understand what it means to live like Jesus. It involves sacrificing yourself, your own needs and desires, for others. It's about loving everyone no matter who they are, what they do, what they look like, or where they come from. It's about being kind to others and meeting them where they're at, not forcing beliefs don't their throats. Being like Jesus means being radical, but most "Christians" today are so lukewarm that the people around them wouldn't say they're "Christ-like" at all!

Jesus once said, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46). He was teaching about righteousness and wickedness and about the repercussions of being faithful vs. disobedient. His commands are good, but many people claim to be Christians while living in opposition to His teachings. Why would we call Him "Lord" while disobeying Him? How can we claim to be Christians and live against His teachings?

If you are not for Him, you're against Him, heading down the highway to hell.

I would love for all who claim to believe in Jesus and follow Him to truly live like He did, but sadly, many don't. Even just among the people you know who go to church, believe, and/or say they're Christians, how many of them would you say live like Jesus?

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone who said they were a Christian actually lived like Jesus?

Someday, it'll be revealed who's actually lived their life for Jesus and who hasn't. Starting with the "late bloomers" of the faith, those who started their work as Jesus-followers later in life, God will grant eternal life to those who believe, ending with those who have been following Him the longest (see Matthew 20 about the workers, where "the last will be first, and the first will be last"). According to Matthew 7, any who didn't follow Jesus, in fact many who claimed to but didn't truly do God's will, will be sent to the second death and judged for their sins. Sadly, very few actually take the stairs...

But those who do take the stairs, the hard road, the narrow path, whatever you want to call it, they'll be raised up and united with Christ when He returns. The faithful few (which still consists of thousands upon thousands according to Jude) will be joined to Jesus in the clouds, and will come down and reign with Him for 1000 years (Revelation 20). They are the ones who share in the first resurrection, which unlike the second, leads to life without pain and hardship and sorrow. We will be raised up with new, imperishable bodies according to 1 Corinthians 15, and we'll be free to live in the new heaven and new earth, forever in the presence of God! Won't that be nice?